Sheffield's superb tram service was so frequent, seven days a week, that it did not need a timetable. Most services ran every four minutes. The network grew by extension, but did not really change very much. A couple of lesser used routes disappeared quite early (Petre Street and Fulwood via Broomhill) and there were later extensions via Prince of Wales Road and Abbey Lane.
But trams ran from Crookes ...
... to Handworth as unchanging as the Laws of the Medes and Persians.
When buses supplanted trams, they, too, ran from Crookes ...
... to Handsworth much as before but now with route number 52.
Part of the service was extended to serve newer housing at Ballifield ...
A further extension in the mid sixties (?) took the 52 bus to serve new-build "council" housing on Badger Road ...
... and on to a terminus at what was optimistically called Woodhouse Station; Woodhouse Station approach road might be better!
But, broadly speaking, the 52 was a "straight line" route (with plenty of wiggles) from Crookes via the City Centre to Woodhouse Station.
Then along came Yorkshire Terrier to mess things up. Their 52 continued from Crookes down the hill via Walkley to Hillsborough and, at the Woodhouse end, took a completely different route ending up at Woodhouse village. Stagecoach endorsed the appropriated route number when they bought out Terrier!
It was confusing and VERY difficult to show on a map!
The net result was that you could catch a 52 travelling westbound along Badger Road into Sheffield Centre (First 52) OR you could choose a bus travelling eastbound along Badger Road into Sheffield Centre (Stagecoach 52).
But along comes the Sheffield Bus Partnership and made about the only positive decision it has ever made - namely to renumber First's 52 as 52a.
The Sheffield Network map explains things reasonably well.
The farcically bad "Underground" style map is less helpful.
Neither route serves Orgreave and you simply cannot work out which way the two different routes actually go. And the red is a different, more dismal, shade!
Now, wait at the eastbound stop on Waingate in the City centre and enjoy (?) the information in the frame.
Both routes are merged into one straight line and the colour is now blue. The departure list is OK if you know where the buses go ...
... but totally mystifying to a newcomer. Yes, there are explanatory notes beside each time but they really don't tell you anything useful.
Now lets cross the roads and look at the 52 in the opposite (westbound) direction. One feature of the Sheffield Bus Partnership was that First Bus (now 52a) was extended beyond Hillsborough Interchange to Wisewood. Again the network map is OK.
The Underground monstrosity map is, exceptionally, right!
So let us wait on the opposite side of Waingate and observe the bus stop information for the 52 to Crookes, Hillsborough and Wisewood.
The 52/52a is not bright red anymore; the 52/52a is not dull red any more; the 52/52a is not blue any more - it has, for no reason at all, turned green. There is a line of route map (not photographed) which is a wiggly version of the straight line in the graphic above.
Neither explains the difference between a 52 and a 52a. The departure list is even less helpful:-
The tiny little notes beside the times tell you which company operates that bus; z Stagecoach, y First .
The red text says this:-
Bus times shown in bold red terminate at Hillsborough or Worrall (no mention of Wisewood at all - there are a few schoolday trips to Bradfield School at Worrall)
Certain journeys within the frequency section may (may?) also terminate at these locations. (What exactly does that mean to Joe Public?)
So how do you find out where your bus is going?
Visit travelsouthyorkshire.com to view the full timetable or ask the driver for more infromation. Whatever you do, do NOT rely on this notice because it will not tell you what you want to know.
Pathetic nonsense on a pole - up the pole in fact!
Is there a better way?
You bet there is.
Next confusion blog : Wednesday 18th July
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